Italy part 2: Florence

On Monday we took the train from Cinque Terre to Florence which had a connection in Pisa so we made a quick stop to take some cheesy tourist pics at the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

We rented a private apartment in Florence which we knew was close to the Duomo but we had no idea how close. It had the most amazing views. Matt worked remotely a lot on this trip so it made for pretty fantastic office views!

I had been to Florence before for a work trip where we stayed at the Westin Excelsior which has a great rooftop bar. Matt and I went there for a drink before dinner, it has some of the best views in Florence!

After our drinks we had a dinner reservation at what is probably my favorite restaurant in the world, Il Profeta. I had eaten here twice on my work trips to Florence and as soon as I knew we were going I made a reservation here hoping Matt would love it as much as I do. I have ordered the same dish everytime, the John Travolta special (I can't remember the Italian dis name but they call it that because when John Travolta ordered it they said he literally licked the plate clean-which seems weird until you try it then you realize it is totally understandable :). It does not look like much, just pasta and sauce but they use their own pink seafood sauce that is an  ultimate family recipe and it is SO delicious! Matt got the lobster seafood spagetti which was also amazing!

 

Tuesday we started off our day at the Duomo.

We stumbled into the most amazing restaurant for lunch. We loved it so much we went twice during our 4 days there. We knew it would be good when the menus were handwritten.

The next stop was Piazza Della Signoria where we walked to the top of the Palazzo Vecchio for the great views.

We wandered around Florence checking out the Piazzas, shops and street performers.

Sidewalk chalk artist

Piazza Santa Maria Novella

That night we had dinner with our friends Becca and Kyle and their family. A friend   of theirs from NY knew a restaurant owner in Florence. They hooked us up with a delicious 6 course dinner with wine pairings- yum!

Wednesday we rented a car and did our own Tour of Tuscany. Our first stop was Sienna. Sienna is a beautiful Tuscan city that is famous for Palio, a horse race held there twice a year. The horse race takes place in the middle of the city square, Piazza del Campo. The jockeys race bareback and circle around the Piazza 3 times. The race usually lasts no more than 90 seconds and it is common for the jockeys to be thrown from their horses leaving the horses finishing the race solo. Patrons pack into the Piazza and the windows and balconies of buildings surrounding to watch this crazy and dangerous race.

Our next stop was Castello di Verrazzano Winery in the Chianti region of Tuscany. When I had my work trip to Florence we rented the Castle and Winery for a dinner event for our group and I absolutely fell in love with it. When I told my contact there we were coming back for a wine tasting he surprised us and arranged a 4 course lunch with wine pairing and the owner showed us around the property. It was so incredibile, I love the wine there and the food is all farm to table from literally a few hundred feet away on the property. 

Lunch with a view

Parmesan cheese with a their famous balsamic chaser  

Verrazzano View

Then we took a long drive through Tuscany to our final stop, San Gimignano. I love driving around Tuscany taking in the amazing views. I had Matt stop for pictures about every 5 minutes, I couldn't resist.

San Gimignano was our last stop. It is a walled medieval town famous for its medieval architecture. We had a few scoops of "the best gelato in the world" and some wine. We practically had the whole city to ourselves and loved exploring his beautiful and unique area. 

We got back to Florence pretty late but had an amazing day exploring Tuscany! 

On Thursday we went to the Biboli Gardens and Pitti Palace. 

We had a drink at VIP's Bar to take advantage of the view (and the live music).

The we went to the nearby Piazzale Michelangelo, known for the best panoramic views in Florence.

We had dinner at a great pizza restaurant, Caffe Italiano.

Our last stop was checking out the Ponte Vecchio at night and getting a a couple of spritz Italian cocktails. We left early Friday morning for Venice, which I will save for my next post. 

Ciao Firenze! 

Italy part 1: Cinque Terre

I will write about our Italy trip in 3 posts because it would be too much to post in 1.

We started our trip Friday May 2 spending 3 nights in Cinque Terre which means we were there over my birthday. What a great place to ring in the last year of my 20's! I do think Cinque Terre is my favorite spot that I have visited since we have been in London. It is an absolutely beautiful area made up of 5 villages all pearched on cliffs overlooking the sea. It is a national park and typically you hike from village to village.

We arrive friday evening and checked into our little apartment in the Old Town 

Area of Monterosso. This village is where alot of tourists stay, it has 2 beaches and lots of bars and restaurants. We  explored Old Town then had some delicious pizza and wine.

Monterosso:

 Saturday on my birthday we went and got some focciaca for breakfast and started the hike between Monterosso and Vernazza. This is the longest hike (around 2 hours) but also supposedly the most beautiful. It was a little tough at times but the views made it SO worth it!

Once we got to Vernazza we rewarded ourselves with some gelato and drinks

We took the train back to Monterosso and had drinks there by the beach before dinner. We had an amazing dinner that Matt arranged at La Miky. Matt had spagetti with monkfish and they set it on fire, I had gnocchi with pesto (Cinque Terre is favorite for its pesto) with tiramisu for dessert. All I can say is YUM! It was definitely a birthday to remember and will be pretty impossible to beat! 

Sunday we went out to see the remaining 3 villages. We took a ferry from Monterosso to the furthest village, Riomaggiore so we were able to see all 5 villages from the water, here were the views...

Monterosso:

Vernazzo:

Corniglia:

Manarola:

Riomaggiore:

We had lunch in Riomaggiore explored than had drinks at a bar with the most amazing view!

What I would give to be back at this bar right now!

Our original plan was to hike to the next town, Manorala but unfortunately the trails were closed so we took the train. The scenery in Manorala was out of this world so we just hiked to different areas at the top of the town to take in the best views. 

Then we took the train to the last town we had not visited, Corniglia. The town was a long hike and 382 staircase climb from the trainstop- so it was a good thing the trail was closed otherwise I might not have made it- haha!

Steps to Corniglia:

We took the train and made it back to our village just in time for some beers on the beach.

We got to have dinner with some friends from Clemson who were in Italy at the same time for a wedding. The antipastaboard we had was amazing and I am still dreaming about it!

That night two good friends, Becca and Kyle were in Monterosso for the wedding as well so we got to have drinks and catch up with them.

The entire trip to Cinque Terre was incredible. We loved it so much this is one destination I know we will go back to during our time in Europe.

We left on Monday morning for Florence but I will save that for my next post.